


"We Were Born Sick," You Heard Them Say It

by celt_the_flame_3110



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Christianity, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Religion, Religious Content, Religious Guilt, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:48:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celt_the_flame_3110/pseuds/celt_the_flame_3110
Summary: So, long story short, Richie forgot to request a roommate. Which means he’s stuck with whoever the school puts him with.Which is fine. Bill isn’t Richie’s only friend, Richie’s made many other friends and acquaintances throughout his first two year of school. Even if Richie is put with a stranger, he always tried his best to be friendly and social when meeting new people. So, worst case scenario, he makes a new friend.When Richie reached his new dorm room, he fished his school ID card out of his pocket and held it against the black, plastic box in the door just above the knob. There was a noise and a green light glowing as the door unlocked. Richie swung the door open and walked inside to find…Stan Uris and Eddie Kaspbrak.ORRichie and Eddie attend a Christian college and hate each other. They are roommates for the entire fall semester.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris
Kudos: 21





	"We Were Born Sick," You Heard Them Say It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lxck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lxck/gifts).



> Hello, yes, I am back with another multi-chapter fic.
> 
> So, yes. I attend a Christian college. It sucks and I hate it. But I'm stuck here, so...
> 
> This is my way of getting all the anger, sadness, and religious guilt out of my system.
> 
> The only reason this fic exists is because Lock made a joke and I went off and he was like, "Wait... That's _good_."
> 
> So that's why it's here and it's low-key dedicated to him (ily, man 💕)
> 
> So if other people enjoy it, that's rad. And if it helps other repressed, religious individuals, that's amazing and I have finally done some good.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the fic!!

After checking in at the information desk and finding out what room and building he’d be living in, Richie Tozier was ready to start his junior year at his college in Florida.

When he came here as a freshman, he had to bring  _ a lot _ of stuff from his home in Maine. So his parents packed everything in the car and drove him the twenty-four hours (they stayed in a hotel room halfway there.) His parents even stayed to help him unpack his stuff into his dorm room and ate at the dining hall with him, before they said a tearful goodbye to him until they saw him again at Christmas.

Now, Richie had ninety-nine percent of his stuff in bins in one of the storage rooms in his dorm building. So he just said goodbye to his parents at the airport before flying to school.

Richie was  _ relieved _ that his room was on the second floor of the tower. So he wouldn’t have to wait for an elevator to take him up to the fucking  _ eighth _ floor like the previous year—or, even worse—jog up the stairs to the fucking  _ eighth _ floor.

Richie originally wanted to room with his friend Bill. The two of them met when they were Freshmen and they eventually decided to room together the next year. But Bill wanted to room with his friend Mike and there were only two people to a room.

Bill  _ did _ notify Richie in advance so he could request a different roommate. But Richie tends to procrastinate every single thing and also doesn’t like to think about school unless he’s actually  _ at _ school. 

So, long story short, Richie forgot to request a roommate. Which means he’s stuck with whoever the school puts him with.

Which is fine. Bill isn’t Richie’s only friend, Richie’s made many other friends and acquaintances throughout his first two year of school. Even if Richie is put with a stranger, he always tried his best to be friendly and social when meeting new people. So, worst case scenario, he makes a new friend.

When Richie reached his new dorm room, he fished his school ID card out of his pocket and held it against the black, plastic box in the door just above the knob. There was a noise and a green light glowing as the door unlocked. Richie swung the door open and walked inside to find…  _ Stan Uris and Eddie Kaspbrak. _

Richie stopped short in the doorway, not yet spotted by the two.

Stan Uris seemed like a pretty cool guy the first year of school. He was in Richie’s history class when they were both Freshmen. They sat together and, at first, neither of them said a word to each other. Sure, Richie liked to talk but Stan was always reserved and Richie didn’t want to bother somebody who didn’t want to be spoken to. 

After the first couple of weeks, Richie realized that Stan was… actually  _ funny _ in a deadpan, sarcastic way. He would sometimes mutter sarcastic comments under his breath during class and Richie would  _ always _ laugh at them whether he meant to or not.

The two of them were kind of friends after that and sat together in the classes that Richie didn’t have with Bill in the spring. They even got coffee at the cafe on campus and had lunch with each other at the dining hall a few times.

That all changed when Stan became an RA their Sophomore year (usually only upper-classmen were RAs but guys usually didn’t want the job, so they took whoever was willing to do it.) Usually the male RAs were pretty chill and you wouldn’t get in trouble unless you were doing something  _ really _ bad, 

Not Stan, though.

He would write other students up for the  _ dumbest _ and most  _ insignificant _ shit. He would claim that he “had to” because he didn’t “want to get in trouble with Student Life” even though  _ none _ of the other male RA’s were that strict. Stan was just a stuck-up ass. It really sucked because he seemed—to Richie, at least—like a decent guy.

Eddie Kaspbrak, however, was a different story.

Richie never  _ ever _ liked that fucker.

Eddie Kaspbrak was an ite to the  _ core. _ He was pretentious and the most unpleasant person Richie had ever met in his life.  _ Nobody _ on campus liked him—well… except Stan. The two of them were friends since freshman year but even Stan seemed to be getting tired of that little fucker’s antics.

Perhaps since Richie was a Christian attending a Christian college, he shouldn't be thinking such hostile thoughts about his brother in Christ, but nobody actually  _ liked _ Eddie. Everyone pretended to like him, except Richie and a few others, because Christians can’t exactly be mean.

Nobody liked him because he was a snitch. If he caught you even  _ thinking _ about breaking any of the school’s rules, he would immediately go to Student Life (the people who had the power to issue demerits) or one of the RA’s (usually Stan,) who would then have to report to Student Life.

This wouldn’t be as big of a problem if somebody was breaking a big rule (doing hardcore drugs, drinking underage, having a gun.) But the things that Eddie caught students doing and reported it to student life include but were not limited to: Watching  _ Shrek, _ listening to Bon Jovi, playing Poker with Skittles, a senior drinking a glass of wine, another senior who had a lottery ticket, and a junior holding hands with her boyfriend.

When Eddie would report these issues it would, without fail, lead to some otherwise innocent student receiving demerits. This wouldn’t be that bad if demerits weren’t issued in tens. Once Richie found  _ that _ out, the one hundred demerit suspension seemed  _ much _ more threatening.

Richie wanted to go back out to the hallway and check to make sure this was the right room. Surely Stan and Eddie were rooming together and Richie wasn’t stuck with one of them for the whole semester, right?

Unfortunately, Stan was facing the door and spotted him. 

“Eddie,” Stan said with a small, slightly amused smile. “It looks like your roommate’s here.”

Eddie turned around and once he saw Richie, his neutral expression turned into that of disgust.

The three of them stood in awkward silence for a while—Richie stunned, Eddie appalled, and Stan growing increasingly uncomfortable by the second.

Stan broke the silence by clearing his throat and muttering, “I’ll let you two get settled,” before rushing out the door.

Richie wished he could follow his lead, but he  _ did _ have to face Eddie eventually. Best to just get it over with.

Before Richie could break the silence, Eddie plastered this incredibly fake smile on his face and crossed the room to stand in front of him.

“So… you’re my roommate.” 

Richie fought the urge to cringe at the sickeningly sweet tone of voice. “Yeah, apparently.”

“It’s so… good to see you again, Richard.” Eddie said through gritted teeth, somehow still smiling.

Even without detecting the anger boiling beneath the surface, Richie would’ve known that this was a bold-faced lie. Because Eddie had  _ plenty _ of reasons to hate Richie.

The two of them barely talked their Freshman year. Richie knew who Eddie was and that he had a bad reputation for being an ite, but Richie never had a problem with him. Eddie had never snitched on him or on any of his close friends. Stan also wasn’t an RA their freshman year, so Eddie didn’t have anyone he could whine to constantly.

Richie actually thought that Eddie was kind of cute (he fucking  _ hated _ himself for thinking that) and he would give Eddie a small smile—which Eddie would return with the most  _ beautiful _ beam—when they passed each other on the way to their respective classes.

Richie  _ still _ remembers how and when they formally met.

During their Sophomore year, one of the male RAs threw a Christamas party. Everyone on the floor brought snacks, drinks, and board games. The RA in question, Kyle, brought a speaker he could use to play music through his phone.

There was a lot of music banned at Richie’s college. Basically every genre but classical and gospel was banned; Even contemporary Christian music wasn’t allowed. Richie would still listen to the forbidden music, of course, but through earbuds or headphones.

Kyle was playing Christmas music (as you do, during a Christmas party.) At first it was stuff like,  _ Joy to the World, _ and _ Angels We Have Heard on High. _ Eventually, though, he started to play more…  _ modern _ Christmas songs.

_ Feliz Navidad _ was the first one to come on.

Of course, everyone present was excited to hear something  _ actually _ upbeat and something easier to dance to.

Well… everyone except for Eddie.

He started bitching about how, “This isn’t how we ought to glorify God,” “This song has  _ backbeats _ in it. Do you know where those originate? That’s right!  _ Rock _ music,” and (Richie’s favorite.) “I’m reporting every single one of you to Student Life.”

Since the RA was the one throwing the party and playing the music, the complaints fell on deaf ears and Eddie just skulked back to his room in defeat.

Richie, being the person that he is, walked right next to him on his way there. He stepped in time with the music and moved his arms up and down at the elbow in time with his steps. He did this until Eddie got back to his dorm room and slammed the door shut.

So, okay, they technically didn’t  _ meet. _ But that was the first time they had interacted with each other directly.

Eddie and Richie hadn’t looked at each other with anything other than pure disdain ever since.

And now they were  _ roommates. _

Richie forced a smile of his own, hoping that his seemed a bit more natural than Eddie’s. “It’s good to see you too,  _ Edward. _ You can just call me ‘Richie.’ ‘Richard’ is too formal.”

Eddie kept up the smile, but it seemed to be increasingly harder by the second. “Are you sure you’re in the right room…  _ Richard?” _

“Eddie, I swear that  _ I’m _ not happy about this either. But we’re stuck with each other for the rest of the semester. So can you just drop the act and stop smiling at me like a serial killer?”

Richie was surprised—but relieved—by how quickly the smile fell off of Eddie’s face. 

It was promptly replaced with a glare and pursed lips. “Well,  _ pardon me _ for trying to be nice.”

Richie  _ really _ wanted to scoff at that. If Richie had to describe Eddie Kaspbrak in a hundred words, ‘nice’ wouldn’t be  _ any _ of them.

But Richie refused to be the reason that he and the demon he was forced to share a living space with got off on the wrong foot.

So Richie took a deep breath and tried to be the bigger person. “Eddie, you can be nice to people without smiling like that. You don't have to pretend like everything's okay all of the time to be kind."

Eddie’s eyes narrowed. “Like you would know…”

Richie couldn’t stop himself from mirroring Eddie’s expression. “I try to be nice to people.”

“Not  _ all _ people.”

“Well maybe I’m not nice to stuck-up ites that think they’re better than everyone else. But I'm nice to  _ most _ people."

Eddie’s jaw dropped but his mouth was only agape for a short moment before it snapped back shut.

He pursed his lips and murmured, “I’m going to go get my stuff out of storage,” before storming out the door.

Richie needed to go get  _ his _ stuff out of the storage room too but he didn’t want Eddie’s dramatic ass to whine about how Richie was following him. So he sat on the bed that Eddie didn’t claim and texted his parents to let them know that he got from the airport to campus safely. Then he texted Bill and scheduled a time to eat dinner together (since his roommate, Mike, wasn’t on campus yet.)

Finally, Richie left the room and went downstairs to the lobby. The storage room was unlocked when he got there, so he walked in to grab the two large, gray plastic containers (both labeled with his name and school ID number) and then carried both of them up the stairs to his room.

The containers weren’t light by any means—they held everything that Riche would be using for the entire semester—but Richie didn’t have much trouble taking them to the second floor. Well… he had  _ some _ trouble but not as much as he did the previous years. Instead of sitting them on the floor and scooting them inch by inch until he got to his room, he only had to sit them down when he got to his hallway. 

His summer workouts seem to have paid off.

He got the containers inside without trouble and started unpacking everything. By the time he got about half of the first container unloaded, he heard the sound of the door unlocking. He prepared himself for Eddie or an RA to come in.

But nobody did.

After hesitating for a moment, Richie walked over to the door. He saw a gray container identical to his own, save for the name and ID number labeling it, propping the door open. Eddie appeared in the doorway seconds later, hunched over and trying to drag another across the floor.

Even though Richie hated the bastard, he couldn’t stop the amused smile from creeping on his face. “Need help?”

Eddie stopped dragging the container just to stand up the rest of the way and glare at Richie.  _ “No.” _

He bent over again to drag the container closer to the doorway.

Richie snickered. “Are you sure?”

“I’m  _ positive.” _ Eddie grumbled.

Richie shrugged. “If you say so…”

Richie heard Eddie make an indignant sound behind him as he walked back to his own containers.

By the time Eddie  _ finally _ dragged his containers over to his side of the room, Richie had an entire container unpacked and was starting on the other.

Eddie glared daggers at Richie as he started unpacking his own stuff with harsh movements.

As soon as everything was lying around his living space, relatively sorted, Richie started to put his stuff away.

"The drawers with the Post-it notes in them are mine!" Eddie called.

Richie opened a dresser drawer and, sure enough, there was a neon green sticky note with "Eddie's" written on it stuck to the bottom.

Richie rolled his eyes. "Noted. Did you claim your side of the closet too?"

Eddie let out an irritated sigh.  _ "Yes. _ I also claimed my book self space, desk space, and cabinet shelves.  _ Don't _ touch them."

Richie had to resist the urge to steal one of Eddie's drawers. He knew it would piss him off but Richie wanted to be flexible, no matter who his roommate was.

By the time Richie got all of his stuff put away in its proper place and made his bed, Eddie was only halfway done with his second container.

At this rate, Richie was legitimately concerned that Eddie would miss dinner. It was currently five thirty, the dining halls closed in an hour.

“Eds, are you  _ sure _ you don’t want any help? The dining halls close soo—"

Eddie slammed the bottle of vitamins he was holding on the desk and whirled around to give Richie the dirtiest look he had given him all afternoon. “My name is _Eddie._ _I_ don’t need your help, Richard! Why don’t you just _leave?”_

Richie swiftly rose from his sitting position on the bed and Eddie flinched back a little.

If Richie were a little more clear headed, he would’ve felt bad about that. But right now, he was  _ pissed. _

Of course Eddie the ite was too high and mighty to accept help from a sinner like Richie. 

Who the hell was he to tell Richie to leave his own fucking dorm room?

“Fine. I  _ will _ leave.  _ I _ have  _ friends _ to eat dinner with.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped again as Richie turned and left.

***

Eddie had just finished unpacking all of his stuff when he got a text from Stan.

It read:  _ Hey Eddie, Patty and I were going to grab dinner. Would you like to join us? - Stanley _

Eddie sent him a quick message of acceptance back before changing into different clothes.

At his college, men were required to wear suits to church services and dress shirts with slacks to classes. After classes ended, and dinner started, casual attire was appropriate. Meaning guys would usually wear jeans, sweatpants, or shorts with t-shirts. Eddie didn’t have any of those (except his sleeping shorts but those were against the dress code—and therefore, not an option.)

He normally wouldn’t change clothes between class and dinner, since he didn’t want to have to do his laundry early. But after heaving those plastic totes from the storage room to his room, the navy polo he was currently wearing had splotches of sweat on it.

Eddie looked through his polos, which were now neatly hung up in the closet, and tried not to get angry when he saw the loud button-ups on the other side. They all looked like Richard had shopped at a tiki tourist shop exclusively for his clothing.

Eddie snatched the desired polo off of the hanger before whipping the current one off of his body in one quick motion.

Okay. So maybe he was a  _ little _ angry about having Richard as his roommate.

For some reason  _ nobody _ wanted to be Eddie’s roommate. Eddie had caught most of his peers breaking one of the school’s rules at one point or another but none of them seemed to be over it yet. They should be grateful, all things considered. Movies, most books, most games, sexual immorality, ungodly music, inappropriate clothing, alcohol… They were all slippery slopes to falling out of your relationship with God and ending up on the side of the road and addicted to crack.

What shocked Eddie even more was that Stan, his  _ best friend, _ didn’t even want to be his roommate. When Eddie first mentioned the idea to him, Stan said that he wanted to leave it up to God. Eddie  _ totally _ respected that decision. But then he overheard some guy named Ben talking to Stan about being roommates and how it was funny since both of their girlfriends were going to be roommates too.

Eddie just… didn’t understand. He and Stan could have had such a peaceful living arrangement. Eddie had never broken a single school rule the whole time he had been here and Stan was an RA, so it was obvious that  _ he _ had never broken any rules either. It would’ve been  _ perfect. _

But  _ no. _

Eddie had to be roommates with a  _ rule breaker. _

Now, Eddie wasn’t 100% positive that Richard Tozier was a rule breaker but usually he could tell. He could tell who breaks rules and who doesn’t by just observing them. Their behavior, the way they talked, even the way they walked… it was pretty much a dead giveaway.

Eddie hadn’t heard about Richie receiving demerits for anything over the years. It’s not that demerits were the subject of gossip across campus; the average student couldn’t care less about the punishments of others. Eddie just wanted to ensure that he knew who to keep an eye on, to avoid repeated offenses.

Richard Tozier might have a clean slate now but that didn’t mean that he was  _ actually _ innocent. Lots of students got away with breaking rules and graduated with a clean slate. That’s why it was Eddie’s responsibility to find out who was sinning and to put a stop to it before you it was too late.

Eddie shook his head. There would be time to worry about that later. Right now,  _ he _ had friends to eat dinner with.

After making sure the hem of his lime green polo was tucked into his khakis and his hair was fixed, he left the room to go to the dining hall. He decided to leave his “medicine bag” in his room, though. As long as he took his pills the moment he got back, he would be fine.

There were two separate dining halls on campus. One served foods like pizza, chicken tenders, and hamburgers (or so Eddie had been told. He had never eaten there.) The other served mexican, comfort, and asian foods to name a few. That was the one most students liked to go to and the only one Eddie ate at.

Eddie’s dorm building was close to the dining hall, so it didn’t take him that long at all to get there.

The different sections of the dining hall had different colored chairs. So when Stan texted Eddie telling him that he and Patty were sitting in the “red chair” section, Eddie knew exactly where to head.

When he got there, he was a little surprised to see Stan and Patty sitting at a large, round table, rather than one of the four-person tables.

When Stan glanced up and saw Eddie, he smiled and waved at him. Eddie waved right back as he sat at an empty chair.

Eddie smiled. “Hello, Stan. Patty.”

Patty smiled warmly. “Hi, Eddie. It’s good to see you again.”

Stan gave Eddie a smile too. “Patty and I invited our roommates to eat with the three of us. We hope you don’t mind.”

Eddie had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Now he had to chaperone  _ another _ couple? 

Great…

Eddie just kept up the smile right back. “I don’t mind at all. It’ll be nice to finally meet them.”

Patty gestured towards the food lines of the dining hall. “Ben and Beverly are getting their food right now. You should probably go get yours too.”

Eddie nodded then left.

This particular dining hall had seven food lines to choose from. It was hard for most students to decide what they wanted to eat.

Unfortunately, Eddie had lots of allergies and couldn’t risk eating some broccoli that had been used on the same cutting board as eggs.

But, praise the good Lord above, this dining hall had an AF8 line. They used purple utensils and an entire separate workstation for the food served there. So Eddie didn’t have to worry about having any allergic reactions, which was a  _ huge _ plus.

Today they had cabbage roll casserole, carrots, and cauliflower. Not only was it healthy, but it tasted pretty good (way better than most people would think.)

Once Eddie had fixed his plate and grabbed a glass of water, he went back to the table. As he approached, he saw another man and woman sitting there with Stan and Patty. It didn’t seem like they were making physical contact at all, so they were safe from punishment.

When Eddie got to the table, he sat his plate and cup down in front of the seat between Stan and Ben. This way, he not only got to sit next to his best friend but he was also in a good position to keep an eye on the two couples.

Stan smiled. “Eddie, this is my roommate Ben and Patty’s roommate Beverly.”

Ben smiled kindly, extending a hand for Eddie to shake. “It’s nice to meet you."

Eddie took Ben’s hand and shook it. Not two seconds later, Eddie was reaching into his pocket for his hand sanitizer. Ben actually looked…  _ hurt _ when Eddie started rubbing the gel in.

Eddie typically didn’t feel the need to explain himself but Ben seemed so sweet, so Eddie couldn't let him feel bad for no reason. 

“I’m sorry. It’s not just you. I can’t really touch anyone except Stan without feeling dirty.”

Ben seemed to accept his explanation. “That’s alright."

Eddie caught the gaze of the redhead seated on Ben’s other side and smiled at her. “Beverly, is it? It’s nice to meet you.”

Beverly smiled with slightly pursed lips. “It’s nice to meet you too, Eddie.”

Eddie was about to ask what  _ that _ was about, but Ben quickly changed the subject by offering to pray over their food.

***

Eddie trudged back to his dorm, slightly bitter that he spent the entire meal trying to catch the opposite sexes touching. He even repeatedly dropped the spoon that he never used, so he could look under the table to see if their knees or feet were touching.

But, he supposed, that your work was never truly done when you were a servant of God.

Even if you were in your own room...

Once he took all of his pills (being used to the bad tasting ones at this point in his life,) Eddie barely had time to sit on his bed before his roommate came back in. He had a bottle of Coke  _ (far _ too much sugar…) in one hand and a genuine smile on his face.

Now Eddie wasn’t saying that he didn’t like seeing others happy—even men like  _ him, _ but it was a little discouraging to see those that opposed him prospering.

As soon as Richard laid eyes on Eddie, the smile abruptly fell off of his face.

Eddie was  _ incredibly _ offended by that but before he could say anything about it, Richard spoke.

“You cool with me hopping in the shower first?”

Eddie made an incredulous noise. “You’re not even going to  _ greet _ me?”

Richard narrowed his eyes. “And have you either ignore me or snap at me? No thanks.”

Eddie couldn’t stop the short growl from emanating from his chest. “Why should  _ you _ get to shower first, anyway? I probably have to get up earlier than  _ you _ do.”

Richard crossed his arms. “Oh, yeah? What time do you have to wake up?”

Eddie smiled, assuming he had won. “Eight.”

Richard, to Eddie's dismay, smiled right back. “Then I get to shower first.”

Eddie’s jaw practically dropped to the floor as Richard cackled in delight and started rummaging through his dresser drawers.

“Why on  _ earth _ would you wake up earlier than eight AM?”

“I’m scheduled to work at six.”

Normally, Eddie would feel sorry for someone with that kind of work schedule but Richard probably did something to deserve it.

Eddie huffed. “Fine. Be quick, though. My nighttime routine takes a while.”

Richard froze after pulling some sweatpants out of the drawer, seeming to be lost in thought. 

Then he looked at Eddie and smiled. “Sure thing, Eds. I’ll be quick.”

Before Eddie could yell at him for calling him  _ that _ again, Richard went to the bathroom and locked the door.

***

Typically, Richie only spent about twenty minutes in the bathroom every night. He would shower, brush his teeth, piss, then he’d be done.

But since Eddie was so snippy about wanting Richie to be quick…

He took closer to an hour to get ready for bed.

He shampooed his hair more than once, washed his body as thoroughly as possible and took his time getting dressed.

Had Eddie been nice or even neutral with his request, Richie would’ve happily complied.

Eddie’s rude tone of voice pissed him off, though.

When he felt that he had sufficiently wasted time and had his boxers and pajama pants on, he left the bathroom.

The first thing he was met with when he walked to his bed was Eddie sitting at the desk. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes were narrowed, and he was tapping his foot.

When he glanced at Richie, his eyes got bigger and his face flushed.

Of course Eddie was so sheltered that he was flustered at seeing another man shirtless...

Richie felt his own face heat up. “What’re you staring at?”

Eddie blinked a few times, then muttered, “I need to go shower…” before snatching his stack of neatly folded clothes off of the top of the dresser and hurrying to the bathroom.

Richie rolled his eyes and collapsed onto the bed. He put his headphones on and turned on some classic rock, making sure that the volume was low enough so that it couldn’t be heard by anyone else in the room.

Richie wouldn’t put it past that ite bastard to see him with headphones on and demand to know what he was listening to. So, just in case, he was ready to switch to a separate playlist.

About an hour and a half later (wow… he really  _ did _ take a long time in the bathroom,) Eddie walked in clothed in orange short shorts and a gray t-shirt.

Richie hated himself for thinking that he—a pretty terrible person and a  _ boy— _ was cute. He had to resist the urge to stare at his toned thighs.

Eddie glanced up and his eyes widened. He immediately crossed the room to stand in front of Richie.

He quickly changed playlists before slipping his headphones down to his neck. “Can I help you?”

“What are you listening to?” Eddie demanded.

Richie had to suppress a laugh. Eddie didn't even attempt to be casual about it or  _ anything. _ Just, ‘What are you listening to?’

It’s a wonder why he’s so successful at ratting people out.

Richie clicked the button on his phone to show Eddie the lock screen, where it shows that he’s playing a hymn.

Eddie gazed at him suspiciously for a moment before  _ finally _ stalking back to his bed.

When Eddie turned on his white noise machine and crawled into bed (even putting a fucking  _ sleep mask _ on,) Richie switched his music back.

Richie was going to have to hide anything he owns that Eddie could possibly use against him. He was going to have to study the handbook and brush up on any rules he might have forgotten.

Richie honestly couldn't care less about getting demerits. As long as he didn’t get enough to be put on academic probation (seventy-five) or be suspended (one hundred,) he was fine. 

Richie has had a clean slate since he was a Freshman and he will be  _ damned _ if he gives Eddie the satisfaction of being the one to tarnish it.

After another twenty minutes, Richie finally turned off his music, took off his headphones, and got in a comfortable position to sleep. He had to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning than he usually did.

He had work to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Who knows when chapter two will be up?
> 
> I'm too busy being anxious, doing school work, and getting demerits I don't deserve...
> 
> Anyway, go follow [ Lock's IT blog on Tumblr ](http://ull-float-too.tumblr.com) if you haven't already. (Shamelessly promoting him in my notes from now on bc I love him)
> 
> Also, if you're seeking mediocre IT content, buried beneath text posts and other random nonsense, my Tumblr is [ here ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/celt-the-flame-3110)
> 
> Have a nice day, everyone!


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